20

"Frigate 'Normandy-SR1'

As soon as Shepard left the infirmary, Big Brother decided to disturb the captain's healthy sleep.

— Captain, I have bad news for you - the Council summons you, — Joker said, and Shepard's good mood shot itself in the next second.

— Fine, — Jane hissed angrily and went to the conference hall.

— Captain Shepard, — Tevos greeted. The other councilors just stared at her. And these stares promised nothing good.

— Councilors, — Shepard said calmly, but Sparatus was not calm at all.

— And how should we understand this, Shepard? — the turian began, and she immediately understood everything.

— Oh Lord… — Shepard hopelessly rolled her eyes. Still, she had to send a report where she tried to present everything in the softest possible form, but it seems that it was not enough. — And what exactly do you not understand in my report?

— Do you even understand what you've done? You let a geth escape right FROM YOUR SHIP!!! — it was clear that Sparatus didn't care about restraint.

— I understand. So I'm not going to make any excuses.

— Oooorgh… — Sparatus growled, and this time it was he who rolled his eyes. A little more and a turian facepalm is guaranteed.

— Actually, we wanted to talk about something else, — Valern reminded his colleagues.

— Yes, — Tevos began. — We wanted to talk about your relationship with the Alliance.

— Damn it… — Jane said as quietly as possible, but the councilors understood what she said.

— Yes. We found out that the Alliance demanded the geth from you, — said Sparatus.

— And also that on that planet you were hunting for the geth on the orders of Jim Hraston, a member of the Alliance Defense Committee, — Valern continued.

— Just don't start!!! I obey you and I have the courage to send the Alliance far away with their orders "for the good of humanity"! — Shepard grimaced at the last sentence like a child, but it didn't bother the councilors. It seems they are used to this from the SPECTREs.

— Well then. That's exactly what we wanted to hear, — Sparatus said calmly, and there was no trace of his anger left.

— We are more concerned that the Alliance is trying to woo you over to their side, — Tevos continued. — SPECTREs are obliged to remain neutral towards all states. They are not required to follow the orders of their government and obey only the Citadel Council.

"Listen, Shepard," Sparatus said firmly but calmly. "Don't listen to Hraston and the like about you still being an Alliance officer. You're a SPECTRE. And that's the priority right now.

— Believe us, we act in the interest of the entire Citadel Space. We try to maintain a balance between all states, but humanity…

— Do you have something against my race, Councilor Tevos? — the captain interrupted.

— It's not about that, Shepard, — Valern answered instead of Tevos. — Have you heard of 'Cerberus'?

— Yes. Xenophobic pro-human terrorist organization. What does the Alliance have to do with it? — Shepard asked, puzzled.

— The thing is, we have some suspicions and circumstantial evidence that some politicians, high-ranking officials, and even Alliance military personnel are loyal to Cerberus and even serve it, — Valern answered.

— And you think Cerberus will get the geth? That they will become stronger?

— It's not about the geth, Shepard, — Sparatus answered. — It's about their attempt to control a SPECTRE and force him to obey their orders. This is unacceptable!

— So, SPECTRE Shepard, it's not worth giving the geth to the Alliance. It will cause us much more problems than if you give it to us, — Tevos was concluding.

— Or destroy it, — Shepard corrected.

— It would still be better if you deliver it alive. It will greatly help us in studying Artificial Intelligence, — Valern argued with her.

— And also, Shepard. We would be very grateful if you do not carry out the orders and... requests of the Alliance. We suspect that you would be helping Cerberus in this way without even suspecting it. Moreover, it's better for the Alliance not to know about our conversation. Let them think that you will give the geth to them. If you want, you can pull the wool over their eyes, we will even help you with that, — Sparatus was suddenly chatty. Tevos and Valern didn't interrupt him.

— Well, okay, but I have a condition, — Jane suddenly said, but none of the councilors were surprised.

— What? — asked Valern.

— You allow me to also start hunting for Saren.

— Why do you need this, Shepard? — Sparatus wondered.

— That bastard burned an entire colony of civilians because of some piece of ancient crap! — Shepard hissed, which made the councilors immediately understand that if they refuse her, it will be worse. — And you still ask why? — the councilors did not answer at first, but then Tevos and Sparatus exchanged glances. Sparatus nodded slightly. Then Tevos looked at Valern, and he also nodded.

"Alright, Captain. You are allowed to bring Saren to justice. However, remember that capturing the geth is your primary mission," Tevos finally informed.

"Of course, Councilor," Shepard replied.

"Until next time, Captain," Tevos bid farewell, and the connection was cut off.

Frigate "Relic"

"Terra Nova, this is Relic. Requesting permission to land," the pilot of our frigate began.

"Relic, this is Terra Nova. Confirm your ship type," a young dispatcher replied. How old is she anyway? The voice analyzer showed 23. Probably an intern.

"Ship type - frigate. Affiliation - Migrant Fleet," the pilot, who was actually a geth in a quarian suit, replied. In general, I was persuaded to staff the ship according to the full schedule. I forbade even death threats to take off the suits. Otherwise, God forbid, the ship could be requisitioned.

"Received, Relic. Landing permitted. Dock number 315.

"Thank you," the pilot replied. Yes, two days of training were not in vain, and now these terminators knew the basics of etiquette. At least, they learned to say "thank you, please, good day". At first, it was okay, but then I had to explain that you don't have to greet everyone you meet, but only the one who approached you and called you. In general, it was difficult, but the result was worth it.

"Did you get into their system?" I asked the pilot about the task I had given him.

"Yes. Their sensors are hacked. Now for them, we will be organics," the pilot replied.

"Understood. Okay, let's go.

In the airlock

"Disinfection procedure is in progress," the VI of the dock said monotonously.

"So, we are on a Pilgrimage. I will be the only one talking, and you only speak when asked," I went over some points of our stay again. "And remember - no word in non-quarian," I said, and the airlock door immediately opened. We went out, walked down the corridor, went down the stairs and were met. A girl in a nice dress with lots of cutouts wherever possible, and two brutal soldiers in heavy armor with shotguns at the ready, and assault rifles on their backs.

"Welcome to Terra Nova. We're always glad to have guests from the Migrant Fleet."

"At least somewhere we're not kicked out. I'm liking this planet more and more," one of my companions suddenly said. Odd, could it be because I brought three primes with me and connected these lovebirds to them in a common network? I did it so that they would speak a bit like organics. It seems to have worked. And it's not a violation of my order — the girl did address them too. Well, the conversation is going well, that's enough.

"Well, we just want to take a walk for a few days. Maybe a week. We're on a Pilgrimage," I began to explain, and the girl, surprisingly, listened to me attentively. "Just how much will it cost to park a frigate?" Of course, we didn't have problems with money, although that's a bit of a stretch. After hacking some bank passwords in the Alliance, we took out a loan there. Then we used this loan to bribe a few dirty workers on the stock exchange. Then we performed a few thousand (31,526 to be precise) financial transactions at FTL speed, after which our protection was finally hacked, and the system automatically noticed that the transactions were being conducted with the help of an AI. However, we managed to transfer the money to 10,000 underground accounts on Illium, passing them through the financial system of the Alliance where they were cashed by one dirty-handed person, then transferred to a completely different bank, and only then transferred to Illium. In short, now we're millionaires — 10,000,000 credits — it's a decent amount. It's enough for dock rent.

"There's no need for that. As a developing colony, we've abolished dock fees and half of the trade duties imposed by the Systems Alliance."

"I see. Well, thank you. No need to fill out any documents?" I asked just in case.

"If you don't have any cargo, then no. Everything's already done automatically. Just need the captain's name," so... Hmm, okay, let's think, we have two seconds. Alright, good.

"Kerd'Zirun nar Nima."

"Thank you. You are free," said the girl, whose name I never found out, and left with the guards. It's odd, I expected bureaucracy and trolls here, but no, nothing like that. Well, most likely, it's also related to the development of the colony. Well, it's better for us.

The port was quite large. It turned out there were 400 docks here, and 315 of them were occupied. And they're still building a hundred more docks. Looks like the colony is thriving, that's for sure. We walked along the docks to get closer to the local taxi stand. We were scanned during disinfection, we didn't bring weapons, there was no cargo on the ship. And it seems to me that you can bribe with a clear conscience here if you ask for something small. Look, one Mexican is unloading 10 kg of marijuana, and the customs officer just got 5,000 credits, even though payday is still a week away. But the guy who tried to carry the same amount of red sand and was offering 30,000 credits is now sitting in the local detention center waiting for an investigator. Yes, they won't seriously violate laws here, but allowing weed - sure, just pay the "unofficial" duty. Moreover, marijuana is legalized on Illium. As is hashish. And yes, I hacked all the customs systems with ease and am now reading over9000 proposals per second. And there is quite a spectacle: a volus who tried to transport 500 diamonds in his suit; a hanar who hid a level 12 bio-implant inside himself; a week ago there was even a fight between two asari here. One Ardat-Yakshi, the other a justicar. In short, the first was left without a head, and they tried to fine the second for "inflicting moral trauma on a five-year-old child," in front of whom (it was a boy) the asari beheaded another asari. Bare-handed. In general, as I understood one thing - the work of a customs officer here is fun.

But when I turned the corner (the port here was, roughly speaking, a cube with docks), I was immediately flabbergasted. The "Normandy" was docked to dock number 270! And Shepard and Tali were standing by the airlock.

"Keep calm. We walk and smile. And I don't care that we can't smile," I said at FTL speed, they just agreed. Seems like they understand my sarcasm. Suddenly, Rex came out of the Normandy with a big box in his hands.

Dock 270, Normandy-SR1

"Damn, Tali, what's in there?" Rex complained. It seems he didn't much like carrying such a box. It was taller than Rex in length and just as thick.

"All sorts of electronics from the geth we killed on Therum. I wanted to send it to Dad, but... Ah, it doesn't matter."

"What happened?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"Aaaargh..." Tali growled at first, and only then continued. "He didn't wish me a Happy Birthday. I mean, I don't mean a gift. They don't do that in the Fleet anymore. But he didn't even remember! Mom always wished me a happy birthday, as did Aunt Raan. But he... Ah, sometimes I feel like he doesn't need me," Tali said sadly.

"Wait, you had a birthday, and you didn't tell us?" Shepard's voice was full of indignation.

"I... it's not customary for us in the Fleet to talk about it. Only the closest family and friends who will congratulate you know about it. We value friendship a lot."

"Why is that?" asked Rex, who had already put the box down and was standing next to it.

"We have almost no personal life in the Fleet. Gossip spreads across the ship at an unthinkable speed, and within a few days the entire Fleet knows about it, but in a completely different form. Everyone considers it their sacred duty to exaggerate, lie, and add their own details," Tali said all this with some hatred in her voice. It seems she knew what it was like when everyone who isn't lazy talks about you. "I should know. Ah, that's why it's very important to have someone who will listen to you and won't talk about it to the rest of the ship afterwards. For me, that person was Aunt Raan and my father. Although he didn't pay much attention to me."

"Heh, you should've seen my father. He didn't care about me at all..."

"Ahem-ahem," Shepard interrupted Rex, and he remembered that Tali is a girl after all, and immediately shut up.

"Yes, but wasn't it him who taught you to kill?" Tali said bluntly, making Rex think.

"Yes. It was him. But I definitely didn't trust him with secrets. Although there was no need. If someone starts gossiping with us, you can safely punch this fuc..."

"AHEM-AHEM!" Shepard coughed again.

"Head-legged."

"Well, that's a comparison. You and... " Tali looked at herself. "Me."

"Heh, yeah. If you push you, something will break right away. Just like with Joker. Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Rex laughed, then picked up the box. "Well, let's get going," and after that, Rex took the box in such a way that he couldn't see anything in front of him, relying completely on the girls. However, as soon as he turned around, he hit a nearby quarian in the head with the metal box, shattering the glass of his mask into pieces.